INQ28: On the Road Again…

Yet more INQ28 this week — but with a dash of Necromunda for a change: As some of you might remember, my little gang of malcontents, mutants and pit slaves codenamed “The Road Crew” should really work well in both settings. And after all, there were still some models that finally needed to be finished, so I got to work.

You see, when I recently finished Worker #9, that was actually a case of the ragtag robot jumping the queue, when there were still a couple of Road Crew members that should have been painted first. These gentlemen:

My idea for the Road Crew was to use the classic Necromunda concepts of both Scavvies and Pit Slaves and build a gang that basically bridged the gap between both, while also channelling all kinds of postapocalyptic influences and sources — which is why you can see a lot of Mad Max, Fallout or even Borderlands in these characters. Of the three guys above, two weren’t even originally built as members of the Road Crew, but when I went through my cupboard of shame, they seemed like interesting enough additions to round out the gang. And now it was finally time to get them painted. So let’s take a look:

I. Chainsaw Mayhem

First up, the tried and true teen slasher concept of a masked villain with a chainsaw — a true classic, this one:

In fact, the original model started out as nothing more comlplicated than wanting to come up with some kind of insane minor villain to serve as a sort of miniboss in games of Necromunda or INQ28 — most of the inspiration for the character came from an old late 90s WD article on various pulpy monster and villain archetypes for use in Necromunda. I also drew some inspiration from a very cool Khornate cultist with a chainsaw built by morbäck, if I remember correctly.

The conversion itself was fairly straightforward: The model basically uses most of a Dark Vengeance cultist, with the hooded head from another cultis. The most involved part of the kitbash was to splice in an Ork chainsword to replace the nozzle of the heavy flamer — and with that, the underhive maniac was basically finished. It’s actually a bit shocking how the model was built all the way back in 2013…

I wanted to paint him in the tried and true Road Crew recipe, that is dark grey fatigues, scuffed yellow armour, and some red detail to add in another spot colour. However, during the painting process, I realised that the colour balance was off, so I had to make some eleventh hour additions to the model: The chance to include more yellow elements was achieved by adding a shoulder pad to the model’s left shoulder and an armour plate over its crotch (which should make brawls in the underhive ever so slightly less dangerous and also has the added benefit of breaking up that massive, red apron a bit, from a visual standpoint):

Of course a masked maniac with a chainsaw seems like the perfect occasion for quite a bit of gore, right? And indeed, I did contemplate adding some Tamiya Clear Red to the model for quite a while. I also realised, however, that due to the way a chainsaw works, I would basically have to paint blood onto the entire blade of the weapon, which seemed like a pretty surefire way to have it all look completely over the top — always a big risk when working with blood effects.

So in the end, I decided that less is more, and went without the blood — almost, that is, because I couldn’t help adding at least some blood to the “bag o’ bones” on the model’s back.

Anyway, here’s the finished model. Meet Sawtooth, everyone:

Granted, a maniac wielding a chainsaw may not be the most original character in the Road Crew, but he was still great fun to finish, and I think he’ll look great with the rest of the family. And even if he has a certain pulp charm about him, I think it makes sense that he would add a bit of a ‘mutant madman’ angle to the crew — on top of the Mad Max angle and the tragic gladiator angle and all the other postacpocalyptic references and influences that are already there 😉

II. Only Sane Man…?!

Now this second model wasn’t built for the Road Crew either. It was originally planned as some kind of Imperial Guard veteran and started life as the result of some idle kitbashing:

The base model was yet another chaos cultist. I swapped the arms and a rifle from the Tempestus Scions kit, which made for a slightly more soldierly look. A head from the Space Wolves’ scouts was chosen for a suitably grizzled veteran look. And that was about it.

When I went through my unpainted models a while ago, I liked the idea of a more human Road Crew member without any obvious mutations or augmentations — maybe a former soldier of the Astra Militarum who had come to the underhive in an attempt to escape something that had happened in his former life? Anyway, that led to this guy being drafted into the gang as well.

This time around, the painting process worked like a charm. So here’s “Sarge”:

While the model uses the same colour scheme as the rest of the Road Crew, I tried to make him look just a bit less unkempt: His equipment is still in pretty good shape, which hints at his past as a professional soldier. And while he has adopted the Road Crew’s emblematic scuffed yellow, it’s still possible to imagine him in his previous life.

III. Yikes! Another Saw…?!

So that’s two down, but I have yet another model to share with you today, and not only is it my favourite of the bunch, but also the one guy who was legitimately planned for the Road Crew from the beginning. Meet “Cirque”, a heavily muscled brute who’s at the forefront of every raid and gang fight, with his trusty eviscerator:

I am really happy with this particular conversion, but to give credit where credit is due, Cirque actually directly borrows ideas from two models I saw online and loved instantly: Plib’s Necromunda Scaly/Brute here…

It’s plain to see how my conversion is basically my attempt at throwing both models into a blender and end up with a combination of the elements I liked most about both of them. Mission accomplished, I’d say 😉 There’s also something about combining Ork bitz and those creepy chaos cultist gas masks that just works every time, if you ask me.

Not only was Cirque my favourite model from this particular bunch, he was also a blast to paint. So here he is, in all his twisted glory:

Oh, and I actually did get to use Tamiya Clear Red on a saw, after all: Since Cirque’s weapon allowed for a slightly more subdued effect, he provided the perfect opportunity to include some blood but not overwhelm the entire model with it. Take a look:

So, once again, that’s three less unpainted models, and I am actually really happy with the results:

Even better, however, is the fact that these three are basically the last models I had planned for the Road Crew, so all that’s left for me is to paint the gang’s ride, an old Gorkamorka vehicle,…

…and then this project will be finished — at least for now. Here’s the entire Road Crew so far:

=][=

The Road Crew

The deeper levels of St.Sabasto’s Reach’s primary hive cluster – colloquially known as „The Orphans‘ Cradle“ – is crisscrossed by a network of tansportation tunnels originally created – and mostly still used – to move the vast amounts of goods necessary to keep the world’s overly bloated population alive. Ranging from cramped maintenance shafts that are mere crawlspaces to multi-laned transport ways allowing for vehicle traffic, the warren of tunnels and substations has become a living space for many underhivers, from the indentured personnel manning the various installations and the maintenance workers to gatherings of escaped slaves and convicts seeking something resembling a life in freedom, even if it should be a life in squalor and darkness.

The so-called „Road Crew“ is one such group and has begun to attract former pit slaves, soldiers of fortune, twists and other malcontents from the hive’s lower reaches, trying to eke out an existence between the underhive fighting pits and minor raids on the biggest transport thoroughfares.

From left to right:

Crusher Vex, also know as “Old Man Claw”, a former pitfigthing champion

Grimspyke “the Impaler”, another champion in the fighting pits and former opponent of Crusher Vex

Sawtooth, a mute and slightly unhinged former manufactorium worker

“Tiny the Brute”, a member of the mutant underclass of St. Sabasto’s Reach and current war-captain of the Road Crew

“Doktor” Solon Antonov, a former, low-ranking Magos of the Velsian Adeptus Mechanicus who disappeared from his posting as a workforce and slave prospector on the world of St. Sabasto’s Reach, only to emerge as the leading figure of the Road Crew

Cirque, a physically imposing mutant and one of the Road Crew’s fiercest fighters

Looks like a pretty cool gang at this point, doesn’t it? And while the project is basically finished, it’ll be easy enough to add new gang members as needed — after all, a gang of underhive rabble always has need of new recruits. And as fellow hobbyist Dragonlover recently pointed out, I really need at least one more member with a red traffic sign — if only for the shout out to the original inspiration for this warband’s name… 😉

Oh, and before I forget: Not only are these guys yet more neglected models that I have finally managed to paint, they also work as contributions for Azazel’s community challenge for June, with the aim of finishing squads and units — or, like in this case, warbands. Plus I am actually fairly confident I’ll be able to squeeze in that vehicle before the end of the month…

For now, however, I would love to hear your thoughts on these latest models — or, indeed, on the entire warband, so please leave a comment! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

19 Responses to “INQ28: On the Road Again…”

This warband as a whole is so very cool. The phrase “superteam!” Leaps to mind, a phrase myself and my friend shout in anticipation of a team of unlikely allies coming together, filling roles and becoming greater than the some of their parts. Sooo excitingly badass.

As for these new additions, my favourite is also Cirque. You didnt mention it bit i love your choice of gun strapped to the small of his back too. Its such a wicked model, in more ways than one. Having said that, the others appeal to me too, i really like the obsurdly huge evicerator/chain cleaver and and i appreciate the soldier’s unique normality within the group. Like this warband will accept ANYONE if they’ve got the right stuff.

Constantly inspiring stuff. I really enjoyed seeing the use of the chaos cultists in the builds. I converted about 30 of them just so that i wouldnt have any duplicates, so i feel very familiar with the pieces. I have 10 more i wasnt sure what to do with… But maybe ill have some fun with them like you did.

Thanks again fore continuing to share this stuff, my excitement at seeing your posts come through to my wordpress reader never seems to diminish.

The chaos cultists have been eclipsed a bit by more recent releases like the Hybrids or Orlock gangers, but they are still so very useful for all kinds of chaos and INQ28 conversions, and it was great fun to work with them again, for a change.

Hard to pick a favourite, even from the new ones, but Sawtooth might just edge it for me. It’s a fairly simple looking conversion but between the pose and the mask he looks really intense. Plus the lack of blood splatter only adds to his impact, you just know that in a few seconds he’s going to start swinging that saw around and everything is going to get very messy indeed.

Your Road Crew is one of my favourites on your blog. Great to see them closing in on the finishing line.

I am not so sure if the old ork trukk, in his current state, will fit into the look of the crew.
I would either make hin more interesting by adding some conversions and bits, or swap him for a more “modern” ride.
Like the new ork trukk, or the genestealer goliath/rockgrinder, or even a taurox (maybe with wheels instead of tracks?).

Cheers, mate! 🙂
As for the truck, for one, I do have a couple of extra bitz in mind that will be glued on after the painting process. I also think it’s perfectly alright to go with a rather more vanilla transport for starters, then maybe add something more original and crazy at a later date, depending on how well this first test balloon works out. Plus there’s also the fact that something a bit more pedestrian could do double duty as a useable vehicle in INQ28 or Necromunda games, too. Anyway, I’ll do my best to sell you on the choice of vehicle 😉

Nice! My faves are the classic Chainsaw villain. Maybe because I haven’t played a ton of GW games, but chainsaw weapons never seem to get old for me.

My second fave is the old guy. He’s fairly simple looking, but the head and the pose just really work and bring some character to him. I also really like the backpack and the knife hanging underneath. He’s an old pro, who knows how to get things done!

These guys are fantastic. I especially like both Cirque and the Chainsaw maniac. He’s one I could see myself ripping off down the line, though at this rate even my rip-offs will take years to happen. The worn and beaten yellow works really nicely on each of the models, and obviously unifies them very well.

Just how many retinues and gangs have you completed now? And how many are still WIP? 🙂

As for your question, I am only a bit shocked to realise that there are always four or five warbands in some state of un-completion in my cupboard of shame, while another half dozen linger at the back of my head at all times. At the same time time, there should be seven or eight finished (as in, playable) completed retinues and about sixty or so finished characters in my INQ28 collection at this point.